Canal Zone Environment

Book excerpt: The Pacific Sector, Canal Zone, contains numerous areas favorable for testing or training in tropical environments under the political jurisdiction of the United States. The climate of this area is tropical wet-and-dry, typical of savanna areas. Seasonal differences in climate are significant in testing program results. The dry season is not representative of wet-tropical conditions, and testing conducted an this sector during this time would not yield the same results as that conducted in a true wet-tropical environment. Vegetation consists primarily of tropical deciduous forests on the uplands and marsh plants or swamp on the lowlands. Dense vegetation tends to grow in forest clearings. Inland the landscape consists of numerous low rounded hills; costal benches and terraces are fringed by wide mud flats exposed only at low tide. Representative savanna areas may be found in the Rio Hato Military Reservation, 64 miles west of the Canal Zone in the Republic of Panama. (Author).